Clinical evaluation of peripheral trigeminal nerve injuries

This article presents a standardized method of clinical evaluation of the patient with a peripheral trigeminal nerve injury that provides both subjective and objective information. This evaluation scheme has been used by 1 author for more than 30 years (RAM) and by the other author (SCB) for 10 years. The information is easily obtained and recorded in the patient's record, and it can be used by any clinician who performs subsequent evaluations on the same patient. The NST methods have been used successfully by specialists in other surgical disciplines for many years, and the various test results have been found to be closely correlated with the injuries found when the responsible nerve was surgically explored.Alternate testing methods or equipment are available that are used primarily in clinical and laboratory research rather than clinical practice. The reader who is interested in more information is encouraged to consult (Further Readings).